MUST READ! _ Major Changes to MTG Products!

[Bog Wraith]

Two articles about major changes to MTG products, both in card quantity per set and the replacement of the Theme Decks with the new Intro Pack.

Also, a HUGE change, a new Rarity is being introduced called the Mythic Rare!

First, WotC's announcement:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mt ... y/20080602

Second, Mark Rosewater's article:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/mr334

I'm very curious to hear what the reaction and comments about these changes will be.

CCGHQ is the place to post your thoughts!

[Huggybaby]

So mythic rare is rare, and uncommon and rare are almost the same.

Commons – 101
Uncommons – 60
Rares – 53
Mythic Rares – 15

Commons – 60
Uncommons – 40
Rares – 35
Mythic Rares – 10

Whatever. I guess when you open a pack now, you'll feel good about getting so many "rares", that aren't really so rare after all, and that prices on the aftermarket will drop to reflect that.

OTOH, I don't think releasing less cards overall will hurt the game, since there are so many released cards that are never used anyway.

[creepycrawly]

Fewer cards printed per year is a absolutely a good thing, and lowering the number of cards in the Core Set by 100 is fine if it's done right (no more Craw Wurm and its ilk). It seemed like with the introduction of Legendary cards into the Xth Edition that WoTC was moving the Core Set into more advanced territory. Perhaps we'll finally see gold and/or hybrid cards in the Core. But I'm not sold on the whole "mythic rare" concept. It seems like a money grab. So now that awesome rare is twice as hard to get? Gee, thanks. Now we'll have kids getting frustrated that they can't keep up with other players because certain cards in the decks they want to build are 100 dollars or more apiece. Yeah, I know. That's probably an overreaction.

I don't know. I do like how Rosewater says all this junk about mythic rares and lowering the number of cards and the perils of keeping up with industry standards ... and then shows us a cool new Planeswalker. As if to make it all okay.

[Huggybaby]

Hey, what's wrong with Craw Wurm? I thought it was a perfect green creature.

[creepycrawly]

Hey, what's wrong with Craw Wurm? I thought it was a perfect green creature.

Haha, okay. Earth Elemental, then. At least they already ditched Vizzerdrix and Trained Orgg. Worst. Rares. Ever.

[eruditious]

One of my biggest fears is that we will see fewer viable decks due to the smaller card pool. I foresee a day when there is >one< deck to play if you want to win. Think faeries, but no good answers due to the lack of cards. This, in turn, will make any rare in said uber-deck more expensive than Tarmogoyf, since everyone that wants to win >has< to have them.

I could be wrong if R&D has done a phenomenal job with game balance in the upcoming sets. We shall see by Octoberish next year when LRW/SHM rotates out.
Let's hope for stellar playtesting at Wizards

[staggerwingjtstw]

I don't know, Denizen of the Deep is pretty terrible. And by pretty I mean most horribly...

[extreme]

i find the elimination of theme decks and introduction of intro decks not so cool.

[Bog Wraith]

i find the elimination of theme decks and introduction of intro decks not so cool.

Agreed!

I've always loved playing the Theme decks. Also, I enjoy modifying them and trying to exploit a weakness in a current set/block to maximize the potential of the deck's playability.

They say that their research shows that the Theme decks are not good for introducing the game to newbies, as well as that the decks are not a true example of what playing and collecting the game is. I disagree!

First off, the decks all come with instructions and hints on how best to play the deck and on ideas of what cards to swap to make the deck different. I think this is a great way for all MTG players to learn a new set/block when it comes out. Especially when played against other Themed decks from that block to see the new mechanics & card types. Besides, they had beginners Theme decks whenever a Core set was released, so those covered that for the new player.

I'll miss them too!

[creepycrawly]

Besides, they had beginners Theme decks whenever a Core set was released, so those covered that for the new player.

Bingo. Back in 2001 I learned how to play from Seventh Edition's "Infestation" theme deck, which was mono-red goblins and burn. Easy and quick. It was a 40-card deck, so I bought two of them and mixed them together and had a great little 60-card deck. (Great for a beginner, anyway.)

With all the "think about the new players" talk coming from Wizards, it seems odd that they would make moves that seemingly will drive new players away. Or worse, drive old players away.

I still have the two copies of Trained Orgg from those Infestation decks, if anybody wants them.

[extreme]

exactly ! the core sets should have the initiation decks, as they do. I completely agree with you.
Also, i am pretty sure there are players who are way past beginner status, but don't really want to go too deep, don't have the time/energy to construct decks and are pretty content to play theme decks for fun. Hell, i'm one of them

[The Scientist]

IF you want to see what most people think about his change, check the second article and then click "discuss this at the forum boards" at the bottom of the page.
There are about 1 000 posts there, and there aren't a lot of positive reactions ..

imo, these changes suck.
- the mythic rare is not going to be a card that people will need 4 times, yeah right .. I don't trust wizard on this, the first mythic rare we already know will be a planeswalker, and those ARE very powerfull.
- printing less cards will decrease the amount of packs players will have to buy, good, on the other hand, since there are mythic rares, this will have no effect. The other argument they made was to decrease the number of cards in the T2 format. Well, Time Spiral rotates out, that number will decrease on its own, and also if you didn't frickkin' release 4 sets every year, you won't need to in the first place. Conclusion : they want to make sure they can do 4 sets a year now.
- the precon change, is bad. players can't buy a deck and play tournaments, they need 60 card to do so. Even if they open the booster and fully add it (they can't because of the colors) they only have 56 cards. On the other hand, they have learned now that opening boosters is what they'll need to do.
- basic lands in boosters, oh c'mon, for the new players ? they would need to buy 3 boxes to have enough lands to make a deck. Yes they count on other players giving them the lands, and I'm sure they will, but is it worth screwing with Sealed Deck and Booster draft format by decreasing the number of cards by 1 per booster. The argument players give is, well, there's always one last pick you don't want, might as well be a basic land. Well : unless Wizards starts printing only good cards, you will now have a 14th pick choice between a sucky card, your normal last pick, and the basic, so nothing's changed except you get fewer cards. They should have promoted Tournament packs instead.

I won't quit magic because of this, but I don't like it.

All the older players who perhaps started again with Time Spiral, will probably quit now, if they didn't run away already because of the hideous lands of Lorwyn

[emperor799]

I'm skipping to the end of the thread to comment, but here are my worries.

1. Unless all the mythic rares are legends & planeswalkers, people will likely be chasing multiple ultrarares per deck, which will make Magic significantly more costly.

2. I currently play in a game (UFS) with about the same rarity breakdown per set. With about the same number of uncommons in the set as rares, very good uncommons become chase uncommons and are so hard to get multiple playsets of that they easily go $5+ within a month of release, with extremely good, wide-use uncommons peaking around $15.

3. Given the chasing for Ultrarares (in addition to rares & uncommons), people are opening so many packs that "crap rares" drop from ~$1 to ~$.35 on the secondary market due to their sheer prevalence. Then, if you open a pack without a chase rare, UR, or uncommon, you're suddenly blowing $4 on 50 cents in card value.

I think this whole thing is a bad idea for Magic.


[As someone who reads the novels, I also hate that they're removing them from the fat packs in place of an "excerpt". I'll never buy a fat pack again.]

[Bog Wraith]

[As someone who reads the novels, I also hate that they're removing them from the fat packs in place of an "excerpt". I'll never buy a fat pack again.]

I too enjoy the novels and have almost all of them going back to the Harper Entertainment books.

I agree, no more fat packs for me as well!

[GandoTheBard]

First off, the decks all come with instructions and hints on how best to play the deck and on ideas of what cards to swap to make the deck different. I think this is a great way for all MTG players to learn a new set/block when it comes out. Especially when played against other Themed decks from that block to see the new mechanics & card types. Besides, they had beginners Theme decks whenever a Core set was released, so those covered that for the new player.

I think you guys missed the point Mark was making...WotC(Hasbro) exists to make money. The company has several possible courses of action in pursuit of this goal. a)Sell more cards somehow. b) branch off into another area of interest to consumers.
So of course the theme decks which WERE perfectly ok for teaching beginners are no longer suitable as they dont introduce new players to the concept of flat crack. If you havent ripped open a booster pack in hopes of finding great cards for your latest deck that you love then you arent truly addicted to the game yet. And this is the fundemental reason for the changes.

Yes Mythic Rares are the samething as Ultra Rares in Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh. Yes they will be hard to obtain and will drive down the price of ordinary rares and thus screw the secondary market to heck...though I dont feel sorry for any vendors who might suffer as they will recoup as they always do by hording more mythic rares than anyone else.

By the way I own 2 rares and a few uncommons and various commons that were part of some deck I saw on a sidewalk sale and bought along with about 300 Yu-Gi-Oh cards many of which are premiums but I assume are worthless. The rest of the cards I've owned were sold to a friend years ago. Well I do have about 7.5k digital cards on my Magic Online account but since the 3.0update thats been inaccessible to me and looks like that wont change unless I manage to get ALOT more RAM somehow. My point being: if you dont like it, you can do alot of things besides get upset and beef.

Dont get me wrong I love the game and I respect WotC's need/right to exist and survive (make money) but I can't be apart of that fiasco due to the fact that I'm not rich or crazy enough. If they start handing out free boosters though Ill be there with bells on.